Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

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Montgomery's Tavern

Photos by Alan L Brown - Posted September, 2006

Photo Source - Toronto Public Library

A battle was fought here at the corner of Montgomery Avenue and Yonge Street just north of Eglinton Avenue back in 1837. This Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque is temporally in storage as the site is redeveloped. Here's what it has to say:

Coordinates: 43.709432 -79.399137

Click here for a larger map

On this site stood Montgomery's Tavern, headquarters of William Lyon MacKenzie, leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837, and scene of the brief skirmish in which, on 7 December 1837, the rebels were overcome by a force of militia commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel James Fitzgibbon. Though unsuccessful in its primary objective, the uprising, by forcing the issue of unrequited grievances against the dominant "Family Compact", contributed significantly to the legislative union of Upper and Lower Canada in 1841 and to the establishment in Canada of responsible government.

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Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

> Posted March 28, 2015
In Thornhill, Ontario, a plaque relates how the Rebellion of 1837 divided even leading citizens, and how bonds of friendship trumped even one's convictions. It was erected in 1981 by the Society for the Preservation of Historic Thornhill, and is located on John Street at Confederation Way (43.814825, -79.422320). Here's what the plaque says:
"Richard Sutton Frizzell 1817 - 1876
Richard Frizzell, a Tory Loyalist active during the Rebellion of 1837, was disdainful of the rebel's cause. On October 18, 1837 he removed a 'Liberty or Death' flag from Gibson House and wove it into the tails of the rebels' horses outside. On December 4, noticing rebel movement on Yonge Street, Frizzell approached Benjamin Thorne, Thornhill's founder, for assistance. Thorne was reluctant to lend a horse as his Mill workers were mostly rebels, but he offered encouragement. After warning Sir Francis Bond Head at York (Toronto), Frizzell took part in the ensuing skirmishes but he refused to betray the location of his rebel friend Samuel Lount who was captured and hanged for treason." -Wayne

> Posted January 9, 2011
John Montgomery was my g.g. grandfather. His daughter, Jane, married my great grandfather. I believe John Montgomery is buried at Barrie Union Cemetery along with his wife, Harriet.
D.J. Carr

> Posted October 16, 2010
i miss that place, my g.g.grandfather used to talk about it all the time. i'd love to see it, but then a gain history is nothing, but dust taken a hold off =(

> Posted June 24, 2010
I was born on Montgomery Ave. in 1931.In the mid-30's I used to sit by the plaque and wait for my father to come home on the Yonge streetcar.
J.B.Toorish

> Posted February 18, 2010
Mr. Brown. My message is related to M.L. Reid's comment about John Montgomery. My family is also related to Montgomery's Tavern I believe via Samuel Montgomery born in 1847. Is it possible that John Montgomery is his father/uncle etc?
D.Stevens

> Posted October 16, 2009
Mr. Brown, Thank you for this wonderful site! It is visually appealing and educational. What a wonderful project to undertake. John Montgomery is my gggg-grandfather so these photos mean a great deal to me personally.
Sincerely, M.L. Reid

> Posted May 5, 2009
The tavern was looted and burned to the ground during the battle. Later a post office stood were it once was.

> Posted December 3, 2008
What happened to the tavern? Was it destroyed during the skirmish? Or was this not a landmark worth keeping?
[email protected] MK

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